The Story of WE
As I read this chapter, I was reminded of my first teaching job. I started teaching at a charter school. It was the first year of the school, and we were all working hard to get the school open. All of the materials and curriculum were ordered by the company managing the school, so we just had to wait for it to come in. As the days got closer, we became more and more concerned that we were not going to receive everything by the time the first day of school came around. We were all new to the curriculum, new to the building, and a good number of us were new to teaching. When I think back about the beginning of that year, I am still amazed by how we banded together to get the school open. We all worked together to get our classrooms ready. When some of the curriculum and supplies did come in, we all helped distribute them. No art supplies arrived for the art teacher, and many teachers went through their supplies and gave her what they did not need so she could start her first project of the year with the kids. It was a wonderful atmosphere where everyone worked hard and worked together to achieve a common goal. I have never worked in an environment where everyone was so committed to the good of the whole as opposed to the good of the individual. Unfortunately, things did not stay this way at that school. Once the school was open and running, things broke down in the moral area for a variety of reasons. Those of use that were there for that opening, still remember how we all came together to open a school. I think all schools would run better if they had that same attitude.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Week 4- Post 4- Reponse to Therese Josephson
Week 4 Free Post: My many marathons
This weekend I am embarking on a new adventure. I will be running a half marathon. That’s 13.1 miles. (My students asked, “You’ll run the whole time? Without stopping? You don’t walk AT ALL?”)
I’m excited. And a little nervous. I’ve been training, and I think I’m ready, but it’s still a little scary. What if the weather is too hot? Or too cold? What if the hills are steeper than what I trained with? What if the craziness of this week (more on that in a moment) affects my fitness?
But, you know, as I was thinking about this, I was realizing how many other kinds of marathons I’ve done. Isn’t every school year a marathon? Certainly, we must be at mile 25 or 26 by now! And, really, I feel like this week has been a marathon in itself. I attended the Wimba on Monday to present my Publishing/Leadership project. When that was done, I went back to school to set up for Tuesday morning’s rehearsal. (The auditorium was in use until then.) I got home around 10:45. Tuesday morning, I rehearsed for 2 hours with 80 middle schoolers. By myself. Then, we had a concert that night. Today was a bit of a reprieve, but I have a concert at my other school tomorrow.
I’m exhausted. But I also know that I’ll make it to the finish line. Of this week and this school year. And I will feel very good about what we have accomplished in the middle school orchestras this year.
This year at Full Sail has felt like a marathon at times, too. For all the good and the bad, and there certainly have been both, I feel like the finish line is within sight. I know that I’m going to make it, and that I will have done it “without stopping to walk” even once. And that is going to feel great!
Ali Baxendale
Therese,
First of all, good luck on your half marathon! There is no way that I could do that! I also completely agree with you about this program and this time of year being their own marathons. I am lucky that I do not have concerts to worry about at the end of the school year, but I do have mountains of grading to contend with. I think all teachers feel the stress of this time of year. All of us in this program are also feeling the stress of finishing everything up before month 12. When I started this program, I thought it would be great to start in the summer and then finish at the beginning of summer the following year. It never dawned on me at the time, that I would be finishing the school year and my master's program at the same time. We will all make it to the end, and we will feel great when we achieve those goals.
This weekend I am embarking on a new adventure. I will be running a half marathon. That’s 13.1 miles. (My students asked, “You’ll run the whole time? Without stopping? You don’t walk AT ALL?”)
I’m excited. And a little nervous. I’ve been training, and I think I’m ready, but it’s still a little scary. What if the weather is too hot? Or too cold? What if the hills are steeper than what I trained with? What if the craziness of this week (more on that in a moment) affects my fitness?
But, you know, as I was thinking about this, I was realizing how many other kinds of marathons I’ve done. Isn’t every school year a marathon? Certainly, we must be at mile 25 or 26 by now! And, really, I feel like this week has been a marathon in itself. I attended the Wimba on Monday to present my Publishing/Leadership project. When that was done, I went back to school to set up for Tuesday morning’s rehearsal. (The auditorium was in use until then.) I got home around 10:45. Tuesday morning, I rehearsed for 2 hours with 80 middle schoolers. By myself. Then, we had a concert that night. Today was a bit of a reprieve, but I have a concert at my other school tomorrow.
I’m exhausted. But I also know that I’ll make it to the finish line. Of this week and this school year. And I will feel very good about what we have accomplished in the middle school orchestras this year.
This year at Full Sail has felt like a marathon at times, too. For all the good and the bad, and there certainly have been both, I feel like the finish line is within sight. I know that I’m going to make it, and that I will have done it “without stopping to walk” even once. And that is going to feel great!
Ali Baxendale
Therese,
First of all, good luck on your half marathon! There is no way that I could do that! I also completely agree with you about this program and this time of year being their own marathons. I am lucky that I do not have concerts to worry about at the end of the school year, but I do have mountains of grading to contend with. I think all teachers feel the stress of this time of year. All of us in this program are also feeling the stress of finishing everything up before month 12. When I started this program, I thought it would be great to start in the summer and then finish at the beginning of summer the following year. It never dawned on me at the time, that I would be finishing the school year and my master's program at the same time. We will all make it to the end, and we will feel great when we achieve those goals.
Week 4- Post 3- Response to Kelly McKinley
wk 4 Getting a new principal!!!!
Sadly, due to the failure of the levy and the impending state takeover, we have been losing some very good people to other districts. Two of our principals found jobs elsewhere. We just got the news this week that our principal will be moving to the Jr. High and we will be getting a new principal next year. After much speculation, we finally found out who our new principal will be and we are all very excited. I had worked with her for several years when I taught at the elementary school and she was a great teacher. They then promoted her to the position of assistant principal and then, after two years in that position, she was promoted to principal of one of the other elementary buildings. She is a fabulous principal.
Ali Baxendale said...
Kelly,
I am so glad to hear that you are getting a new principal that you are excited about! It is about time that you and your school got some good news! My school is also getting a new principal next year. It is going to be an assistant principal from one of the other high schools in the district. I know he is very well liked, and I am interested to see what he will bring to our school. We will have to compare notes throughout this next year to see how everything goes. I know that no matter what, you will continue to be an amazing teacher!
Sadly, due to the failure of the levy and the impending state takeover, we have been losing some very good people to other districts. Two of our principals found jobs elsewhere. We just got the news this week that our principal will be moving to the Jr. High and we will be getting a new principal next year. After much speculation, we finally found out who our new principal will be and we are all very excited. I had worked with her for several years when I taught at the elementary school and she was a great teacher. They then promoted her to the position of assistant principal and then, after two years in that position, she was promoted to principal of one of the other elementary buildings. She is a fabulous principal.
Ali Baxendale said...
Kelly,
I am so glad to hear that you are getting a new principal that you are excited about! It is about time that you and your school got some good news! My school is also getting a new principal next year. It is going to be an assistant principal from one of the other high schools in the district. I know he is very well liked, and I am interested to see what he will bring to our school. We will have to compare notes throughout this next year to see how everything goes. I know that no matter what, you will continue to be an amazing teacher!
Week 4- Post 2- Response to Eric Anderson
Week 4: Project - Publishing-Leadership 3 of 3
What a relief! I’ve spoken to some contacts with the Wisconsin CMP Project (CMP = Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance) and they’re interested in possibly having me present my work at a summer workshop. I’ve attended the CMP workshop several times as a participant, and it would be an honor to be able to present my action research project there.
The 2010 summer workshop is the last week of Month 12 of the EMDT program, so it’s not the best timing as far as this year is concerned. However, the 2011 workshop would give me enough time to continue working on a Cycle 3 for my project to include in my presentation. I think this would be a valuable addition to my project, since my Cycle 2 involved using Ning as a central component to a blended mode of content delivery in my AP Music Theory class. Since Ning will no longer be available in its current form after this July, I would like to look into and experiment with alternatives to Ning that would provide similar functionality, including, discussions, events, and chat.
On a somewhat related note, my department will be presenting a session this October at the WMEA State Music Convention on the topic of general music courses at the high school level. Since my AR project was conducted in two of these classes, I hope to be able to incorporate some components of my project into this presentation.
Ali Baxendale
Eric,
I am so excited that you are going to be presenting your project! I know it will be an excellent presentation from everything I have seen you do in this program! I think it is great that you are going to wait to do another cycle to make your research and project more useful and relevant to the teachers you present to. It would be frustrating to see a wonderful presentation and be unable to use the ideas because the sites used were no longer available. I know you will find a great new site to use! I can't wait to hear how it all turns out!
What a relief! I’ve spoken to some contacts with the Wisconsin CMP Project (CMP = Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance) and they’re interested in possibly having me present my work at a summer workshop. I’ve attended the CMP workshop several times as a participant, and it would be an honor to be able to present my action research project there.
The 2010 summer workshop is the last week of Month 12 of the EMDT program, so it’s not the best timing as far as this year is concerned. However, the 2011 workshop would give me enough time to continue working on a Cycle 3 for my project to include in my presentation. I think this would be a valuable addition to my project, since my Cycle 2 involved using Ning as a central component to a blended mode of content delivery in my AP Music Theory class. Since Ning will no longer be available in its current form after this July, I would like to look into and experiment with alternatives to Ning that would provide similar functionality, including, discussions, events, and chat.
On a somewhat related note, my department will be presenting a session this October at the WMEA State Music Convention on the topic of general music courses at the high school level. Since my AR project was conducted in two of these classes, I hope to be able to incorporate some components of my project into this presentation.
Ali Baxendale
Eric,
I am so excited that you are going to be presenting your project! I know it will be an excellent presentation from everything I have seen you do in this program! I think it is great that you are going to wait to do another cycle to make your research and project more useful and relevant to the teachers you present to. It would be frustrating to see a wonderful presentation and be unable to use the ideas because the sites used were no longer available. I know you will find a great new site to use! I can't wait to hear how it all turns out!
Week 4- Post 1- Publishing/ Leadership Project Part 3 of 3
Last week, I decided that I should focus on finding a place to publish my AR project as opposed to presenting. The first place I looked was the Ohio Foreign Language Association publication The Cardinal. Unfortunately, the entries should be no more than 500 words. The I continued on to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. I decided to submit to their publication, The Language Editor. I am so glad that I have found a place to submit my paper to. The deadline for submission is June 1st, so I am going to have to work hard to make sure it is ready to submit. I am going to have to tweak my citations to match what the publication requires.
Week 3- Post 5- Response to Alicia Kalb
I’m a firm believer in using pop culture in education. I know many teachers frown upon it, but I think that it helps to be able to relate to students. This week I found a correlation between the reading and the newest episode of Glee. This week’s Glee episode was entitled “Dream On” and it was all about making dreams come true. For those of you who don’t watch Glee, you really should check it out by the way, the show revolves around a teacher who brings back the Glee Club and tries to make it great again. He works with the kids who don’t fit in and tries to get them to realize their true potential. He is the kind of teacher who goes outside the box and is working for the kids. Of course there is the cheerleading coach who is everything education shouldn’t be, but is hysterically funny. This week’s episode really spoke to me. When you look at your students they all have a dream, something that they want to achieve and we as teachers need to help them succeed. Especially since there are so many people who try to bring them down. Without dreams, we’re lost. You can check out full episodes of Glee at Fox or Hulu.shapeimage_2_link_0shapeimage_2_link_1
Ali Baxendale
Alicia,
First of all, I also LOVE Glee! I feel a connection to the show because I grew up in choirs all throughout high school, and I am now a high school Spanish teacher (just like Will). I really like the point you make here. I saw the "Dream On" episode. I think it is very important for teachers to help support their students' dreams. I think it is also equally important to make sure students have the facts about their dreams. I have seen many students graduate from high school ready to pursue a degree or career in a very competitive field without realizing the competition. I do not think we should discourage our students' dreams; I just think we should make sure our students pursue those dreams while being educated about them.
Ali Baxendale
Alicia,
First of all, I also LOVE Glee! I feel a connection to the show because I grew up in choirs all throughout high school, and I am now a high school Spanish teacher (just like Will). I really like the point you make here. I saw the "Dream On" episode. I think it is very important for teachers to help support their students' dreams. I think it is also equally important to make sure students have the facts about their dreams. I have seen many students graduate from high school ready to pursue a degree or career in a very competitive field without realizing the competition. I do not think we should discourage our students' dreams; I just think we should make sure our students pursue those dreams while being educated about them.
Week 3- Post 4- Response to Elizabeth Bennert
wk 3 topic: Resistance to change
Personally I think the biggest deterrent from technology in school is time and training. I know many who would not mind adding more, but where is the time, and how do they learn. In my old school there was volunteer training, after school and unpaid… Teachers are resistant to spending what little “free” time they have on volunteer learning, there is already too much going on.
In other fields, there is onsite and paid for training. My sister works in the IT field and whenever they want her to master something new, they send her on trainings, pay for the training and the room and board.
Schools do not have that kind of money, so the stubborn employees who want money if they “have to ” learn something new, will fight and fight because they see it as one more thing added to the list, without extra pay!
Ali Baxendale said...
Liz,
I agree that it would be wonderful to be paid for all of our extra training and work, but I do not foresee there ever being enough money in education for that to happen. I think my school district has taken a smart approach to teachers getting smart boards. Before a teacher can get a smart board in their room, they must go through the district's training on smart boards. Unfortunately, this does not mean that every teacher that goes through the training will receive a smart board. I do think this is a good way to motivate the teachers who do want to stay up on technology.
Personally I think the biggest deterrent from technology in school is time and training. I know many who would not mind adding more, but where is the time, and how do they learn. In my old school there was volunteer training, after school and unpaid… Teachers are resistant to spending what little “free” time they have on volunteer learning, there is already too much going on.
In other fields, there is onsite and paid for training. My sister works in the IT field and whenever they want her to master something new, they send her on trainings, pay for the training and the room and board.
Schools do not have that kind of money, so the stubborn employees who want money if they “have to ” learn something new, will fight and fight because they see it as one more thing added to the list, without extra pay!
Ali Baxendale said...
Liz,
I agree that it would be wonderful to be paid for all of our extra training and work, but I do not foresee there ever being enough money in education for that to happen. I think my school district has taken a smart approach to teachers getting smart boards. Before a teacher can get a smart board in their room, they must go through the district's training on smart boards. Unfortunately, this does not mean that every teacher that goes through the training will receive a smart board. I do think this is a good way to motivate the teachers who do want to stay up on technology.
Week 3- Post 3- Response to Eric Anderson
Week 3: Free Post - Creating Music
I found out this week that next year I’ll be teaching a section of a class I’ve never taught before, a class called Creating Music, which is an introduction for music theory and composition for high school students with little or no experience or background in music. Though I’ve never taught this class, I’ve observed two of my colleagues teach it many times over the past four years, and I know that this class can sometimes be a challenge, primarily in terms of motivating students to be interested in learning to read music notation.
A year or two ago, I probably would have not been very excited about the prospect of teaching this class, but I immediately started thinking about all the great possibilities for how I could incorporate the things I’ve learned through the EMDT program and through my action research to make the class more interesting and engaging for students. After graduation, I’ll have some time this summer to collaborate with the other teacher of the class to work on developing new curriculum and content for the class, and I’m looking forward to incorporating many of the elements of my action research project into this course.
Eric,
I think it is great that you are looking at this new class as an opportunity to reach students as opposed to a burden you have to deal with. I am sure you will find many different ways to reach and engage all of these beginning students. I understand the idea of spending time this summer preparing for next year. I am going to be spending most of the rest of my summer preparing for my Spanish classes next year. I am going to be putting a lot of the content and work online so my students have access from home. The client that we use is being updated this summer, and after I am trained I will be spending the rest of the summer putting everything online.
I found out this week that next year I’ll be teaching a section of a class I’ve never taught before, a class called Creating Music, which is an introduction for music theory and composition for high school students with little or no experience or background in music. Though I’ve never taught this class, I’ve observed two of my colleagues teach it many times over the past four years, and I know that this class can sometimes be a challenge, primarily in terms of motivating students to be interested in learning to read music notation.
A year or two ago, I probably would have not been very excited about the prospect of teaching this class, but I immediately started thinking about all the great possibilities for how I could incorporate the things I’ve learned through the EMDT program and through my action research to make the class more interesting and engaging for students. After graduation, I’ll have some time this summer to collaborate with the other teacher of the class to work on developing new curriculum and content for the class, and I’m looking forward to incorporating many of the elements of my action research project into this course.
Eric,
I think it is great that you are looking at this new class as an opportunity to reach students as opposed to a burden you have to deal with. I am sure you will find many different ways to reach and engage all of these beginning students. I understand the idea of spending time this summer preparing for next year. I am going to be spending most of the rest of my summer preparing for my Spanish classes next year. I am going to be putting a lot of the content and work online so my students have access from home. The client that we use is being updated this summer, and after I am trained I will be spending the rest of the summer putting everything online.
Week 3- Post 2- Publishing/ Leadership Project Post 2 of 3
I have been doing more research for my Publishing/ Leadership project. I originally wanted to present my action research project at a conference, specifically the Ohio Foreign Language Association Conference. I realized that since that conference had just taken place, it would not be accepting proposals for several more months. I then did some research on other conferences. I did not find any in the area that were accepting proposals. Most of them do not accept proposals until the beginning of the school year. My school district is also cutting down on PD funds because the state cut our expected funds by about $10 million, so I would not be able to go out of state for a conference. For all of these reasons, I have decided to try to publish a paper about my project instead. I will revisit the idea of presenting at a conference when the school year begins and the conferences near me are accepting proposals. I have started to look into publication options, but have not found exactly what I am looking for. I will continue looking and am sure that I will have several possibilities by next week.
Week 3- Post 1- The Art of Possibility
Chapter 8 in The Art of Possibility discusses passion and embracing passion. I really enjoyed reading this chapter. When I started teaching six years ago, I was completely filled with passion for my job. I loved teaching and working with my students and colleagues. I let my passion through in all that I did. I still have passion for my job, but I feel as though throughout the last six years, it has been buried a little each year. As more requirements are piled on each year I feel my passion being buried a bit. I know that my passion still shines through, but not as much as it once did. This chapter has really inspired me to start next school year with my passion unburied from all of the things that tend to weigh it down.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Week 2- Post 5- AR website
The beginning of this week was a flurry of activity trying to finish my Action Research website. I feel as though I have a good base. I am sure that I am going to need to improve some areas of the website, but I am looking forward to improving the content. I know I will also have to improve my literature review. I am continuing the research. As soon as I receive the edits, I will continue with the next version.
As I see the program drawing to a close, I am a little overwhelmed with all that has to be done in the next two months. I know that some of this apprehension is due to the fact that this is the busiest time of the school year. My students are working very hard, but also needing a lot of help as the end of the school year approaches. I know that I need to step back, reorganize, and then I will be able to handle everything.
I have been looking into the publishing/ leadership project. I am going to have to do some more research as my first plan will not work due to the timing involved with this class. I can still try to present at the original conference, however it will not be for almost a year. In the next few days, I am going to talk to some of my colleagues to see if they are aware of opportunities that are available. I am also going to do additional research on my own. I am hoping to find a viable direction soon.
As I see the program drawing to a close, I am a little overwhelmed with all that has to be done in the next two months. I know that some of this apprehension is due to the fact that this is the busiest time of the school year. My students are working very hard, but also needing a lot of help as the end of the school year approaches. I know that I need to step back, reorganize, and then I will be able to handle everything.
I have been looking into the publishing/ leadership project. I am going to have to do some more research as my first plan will not work due to the timing involved with this class. I can still try to present at the original conference, however it will not be for almost a year. In the next few days, I am going to talk to some of my colleagues to see if they are aware of opportunities that are available. I am also going to do additional research on my own. I am hoping to find a viable direction soon.
Week 2- Post 4- Publishing/Leadership Project Part 1 of 3
While I think that it is wonderful that we are taking our learning outside the classroom to share with other colleagues, I do with that I had known about this project earlier. Every year the Ohio Foreign Language Association holds a conference. While I have presented at this conference a couple times with other members of my department, I have never presented on my own. I was very excited about taking my research for challenged based learning in the foreign language classroom to this conference and presenting. Unfortunately, this conference takes place in April. This means that the 2010 conference has already passed, but they are not taking applications for the 2011 conference. I feel that this would have been a very valuable conference to be a part of because foreign language educators from across the state come to this conference. They are all looking for new ideas and ways to make their classroom better. Since this conference is not an option for me to apply to within the time frame of this assignment, I am going to have to look for other conferences or publications to pursue.
Week 2- Post 3- Response to Therese Josephson
Week 2 Reading: "White Sheets"
I read The Art of Possibility several years ago, and now that I am re-reading it, I realize that I need to revisit it more often. There are so many wise strategies for being happy and successful, and as I read, I find myself thinking, “Oh yeah! I forgot about that!”
One part of the book that has always stuck with me is the idea of the white sheets. I have always aimed to have ensembles where the students feel that they have ownership. And while I don’t always use the “white sheet” strategy, I have used it on occasion--especially when I feel like things just “aren’t working” in rehearsal.
My first year teaching in the school district that I am currently in was not easy. I was coming from a program where students and parents adored me and I could do no wrong. I was expecting some resistance from students in my new job at first, but nothing like what I actually received. The kids were mad. Mad that their previous teacher had left, mad that I had “replaced” her, and mad that I did not do things the way (they claimed) that she had.
I decided to bring out the white sheets. It wasn’t easy for me to read what they wrote. I still remember the note with pictures of tear drops on it that said, “These are the tears that I cry because you came here and changed everything.” And, in their anger, a lot of the suggestions were not realistic or do-able (or even suggestions, really). But, I gave them an opportunity to vent in a safe environment, and on the occasions that they did provide a reasonable suggestion, I made sure to make a point of trying it.
By the end of the year, we had made some pretty great strides in that class. Things were in no way perfect, probably from my perspective or theirs, but we reached an understanding and were able to make some great music. Students presented me with thank you notes, and even an apology or two. I do believe that the white sheets played a role in this. The students were able to feel like they were being heard. I gave them all the opportunity to have a voice.
Ali Baxendale
Therese,
This is my first time reading The Art of Possibility, but I was also very inspired by the white sheets. I am sure that your willingness to listen to your students that first year, meant more to them than they could express to you. I know that this is one area that I need to reemphasize in my classroom. When I started teaching I worked at an inner city school teaching k-6 Spanish. I was treated as a "special" and say the kids once every three or four days. While there, I developed a Profe's box for my students to put any kind of note in. They could tell me about a problem they were having in class, a topic they were struggling with or something that was going on in their personal lives. Many of my students took advantage of the Profe box, even if it was just to say hi. They liked being able to tell me things. Four years ago, I moved to a suburban high school. I still have the Profe box, but it is not used by my students. I think some of them would really benefit from a place to voice their opinions or concerns. As I am planning for next year, I want to make sure to incorporate the Profe box into my first day of school information, so that all of my students know that there is a safe place to be heard.
I read The Art of Possibility several years ago, and now that I am re-reading it, I realize that I need to revisit it more often. There are so many wise strategies for being happy and successful, and as I read, I find myself thinking, “Oh yeah! I forgot about that!”
One part of the book that has always stuck with me is the idea of the white sheets. I have always aimed to have ensembles where the students feel that they have ownership. And while I don’t always use the “white sheet” strategy, I have used it on occasion--especially when I feel like things just “aren’t working” in rehearsal.
My first year teaching in the school district that I am currently in was not easy. I was coming from a program where students and parents adored me and I could do no wrong. I was expecting some resistance from students in my new job at first, but nothing like what I actually received. The kids were mad. Mad that their previous teacher had left, mad that I had “replaced” her, and mad that I did not do things the way (they claimed) that she had.
I decided to bring out the white sheets. It wasn’t easy for me to read what they wrote. I still remember the note with pictures of tear drops on it that said, “These are the tears that I cry because you came here and changed everything.” And, in their anger, a lot of the suggestions were not realistic or do-able (or even suggestions, really). But, I gave them an opportunity to vent in a safe environment, and on the occasions that they did provide a reasonable suggestion, I made sure to make a point of trying it.
By the end of the year, we had made some pretty great strides in that class. Things were in no way perfect, probably from my perspective or theirs, but we reached an understanding and were able to make some great music. Students presented me with thank you notes, and even an apology or two. I do believe that the white sheets played a role in this. The students were able to feel like they were being heard. I gave them all the opportunity to have a voice.
Ali Baxendale
Therese,
This is my first time reading The Art of Possibility, but I was also very inspired by the white sheets. I am sure that your willingness to listen to your students that first year, meant more to them than they could express to you. I know that this is one area that I need to reemphasize in my classroom. When I started teaching I worked at an inner city school teaching k-6 Spanish. I was treated as a "special" and say the kids once every three or four days. While there, I developed a Profe's box for my students to put any kind of note in. They could tell me about a problem they were having in class, a topic they were struggling with or something that was going on in their personal lives. Many of my students took advantage of the Profe box, even if it was just to say hi. They liked being able to tell me things. Four years ago, I moved to a suburban high school. I still have the Profe box, but it is not used by my students. I think some of them would really benefit from a place to voice their opinions or concerns. As I am planning for next year, I want to make sure to incorporate the Profe box into my first day of school information, so that all of my students know that there is a safe place to be heard.
Week 2- Post 2- Response to Eric Anderson
Week 2: Free Post - Life after Full Sail
Throughout the EMDT program I’ve found myself thinking a lot about how the post-Full Sail me will be different from the pre-Full Sail me. Though most of these thoughts relate to me the teacher, some things aren’t specific to my teaching career. I hope that I can have a better appreciation of time, friends, and family. As they say, you never know how much you appreciate something until it’s gone, and these three things have been pretty much absent from my life over the past 10.5 months.
But on to me as a teacher. One of the frustrations of this program is that I’ve learned so many cool things that I want to try with my students, but I haven’t had the time to do that. As we start to plan for next school year, I’m already thinking about how I can use the things I’ve learned with my students. I’ll be teaching a new class next year that I’ve never taught before, and it’s a perfect opportunity to design the course essentially from the ground up using a blended mode of content delivery.
As stressful as this month has been so far, it is a great relief to have most of our work in MAC devoted to our action research projects. In previous months, AR was always the thing that kept getting bumped lower on the priority list as all the other projects and assignments were due. It’s refreshing to be able to spend the limited time I have in my schedule to take everything I’ve collected and work on compiling it and planning how to present it.
Several summers ago I participated in a conducting workshop at Northwestern University taught by two of the most legendary Wind Band conductors alive today, Mallory Thompson and H, Robert Reynolds. It was a grueling week, and they were very upfront with their approach of “break you down, then build you back up again”. Though I don’t necessarily advocate that approach to teaching, it was a week that I’ll never forget and a week that taught me a lot about what it is to be a conductor.
In many ways, I feel like this year of EMDT has been the same way, and that this month is truly the start of the process of building us back up. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, see the forest for the trees, and all the other cliche expressions. Reading the next chapters in The Art of Possibility has become the highlight of my week -- an oasis of inspiration in a desert of stress and exhaustion. Reading Benjamin Zander’s thoughts on conducting and teaching have made me eager to be able to devote all of my time to teaching again, but with the new tools, knowledge, and experience I’ve gained this past year.
I still consider myself a runner, even though I haven’t had much time for running this year. It’s one of the other things I’m looking forward to having more time for after July 2nd. I’ve run two marathons (Portland in 2005 and Chicago in 2008) and this sure feels like about mile 23!
Ali Baxendale
Eric,
I can completely relate to you in all of this. I feel a bit like I have been on a secluded island working hard to learn and apply everything here at Full Sail. While I am excited about spending time with my loved ones again, I am also very excited to implement all of the great things I have learned in this program. I am already planning things that I want to take into my classroom in order to provide my students with a better learning experience. My summer is already so full of all of the things that I want to implement, that I am not sure how I will complete everything with only a few months to work on them. I know you will do great things in your classroom, and I cannot wait to see what they are!
Throughout the EMDT program I’ve found myself thinking a lot about how the post-Full Sail me will be different from the pre-Full Sail me. Though most of these thoughts relate to me the teacher, some things aren’t specific to my teaching career. I hope that I can have a better appreciation of time, friends, and family. As they say, you never know how much you appreciate something until it’s gone, and these three things have been pretty much absent from my life over the past 10.5 months.
But on to me as a teacher. One of the frustrations of this program is that I’ve learned so many cool things that I want to try with my students, but I haven’t had the time to do that. As we start to plan for next school year, I’m already thinking about how I can use the things I’ve learned with my students. I’ll be teaching a new class next year that I’ve never taught before, and it’s a perfect opportunity to design the course essentially from the ground up using a blended mode of content delivery.
As stressful as this month has been so far, it is a great relief to have most of our work in MAC devoted to our action research projects. In previous months, AR was always the thing that kept getting bumped lower on the priority list as all the other projects and assignments were due. It’s refreshing to be able to spend the limited time I have in my schedule to take everything I’ve collected and work on compiling it and planning how to present it.
Several summers ago I participated in a conducting workshop at Northwestern University taught by two of the most legendary Wind Band conductors alive today, Mallory Thompson and H, Robert Reynolds. It was a grueling week, and they were very upfront with their approach of “break you down, then build you back up again”. Though I don’t necessarily advocate that approach to teaching, it was a week that I’ll never forget and a week that taught me a lot about what it is to be a conductor.
In many ways, I feel like this year of EMDT has been the same way, and that this month is truly the start of the process of building us back up. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, see the forest for the trees, and all the other cliche expressions. Reading the next chapters in The Art of Possibility has become the highlight of my week -- an oasis of inspiration in a desert of stress and exhaustion. Reading Benjamin Zander’s thoughts on conducting and teaching have made me eager to be able to devote all of my time to teaching again, but with the new tools, knowledge, and experience I’ve gained this past year.
I still consider myself a runner, even though I haven’t had much time for running this year. It’s one of the other things I’m looking forward to having more time for after July 2nd. I’ve run two marathons (Portland in 2005 and Chicago in 2008) and this sure feels like about mile 23!
Ali Baxendale
Eric,
I can completely relate to you in all of this. I feel a bit like I have been on a secluded island working hard to learn and apply everything here at Full Sail. While I am excited about spending time with my loved ones again, I am also very excited to implement all of the great things I have learned in this program. I am already planning things that I want to take into my classroom in order to provide my students with a better learning experience. My summer is already so full of all of the things that I want to implement, that I am not sure how I will complete everything with only a few months to work on them. I know you will do great things in your classroom, and I cannot wait to see what they are!
Week 2- Post 1- The Art of Possibility
I was really inspired in this week's reading by Chapter 5, Leading From Any Chair. As I was reading the chapter, I was amazed by the connections that I made to my classroom. I am full of ideas on how to engage each learner. We are in the middle of reviewing the material covered this year before final exams begin. While I have some students who are extremely engaged in this entire process, I have many others who are not interested at this stage in the review process. Many of my students will not be interested in reviewing for exams until the week of exams. At that point it is nearly impossible to review an entire year's worth of learning. In order to help encourage my students to pay attention to the content that we are reviewing, I am going to employ "guest teachers." When we are reviewing a topic, I will invite a student to come up and be the teacher and review with the class. This will allow the students a different perspective on the material, but also keep them all engaged because they never know when they might be called on to be the guest teacher.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Week 1- Post 5- Response to Kelly McKinley
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Wk1 Failed Levy
Tuesday, May 4th, my district had two levies on the ballot. One was an earned income tax and the other was a 6.75 millage. This was the sixth time our district went to the voters to get funding for the schools. Without it, our school district faces state takeover. Neither levy passed. The state will take over in July. There will be another levy on the ballot in August and every election thereafter until one passes.
Unfortunately, I have a very divided school district. There are three very different areas that were grouped to make one district. Butlerville is a very rural area. Most students do not have access to the internet and many don't have a computer. Most of the families make their living from their farm. Morrow is working class. Many of the adults do not possess a higher educational degree. Finally, there is Maineville. Most of the growth that had happened in the past ten years has taken place here. Most of the adults are college educated. By my description of these three areas, you can probably guess how voting went.
It is a shame that school districts are forced to beg for money to run a school. Frankly, I am not sure what the state is going to do when they take over. There have been people from the state that have spoken with our district. They are stumped as to how this could happen to our district. We have been working at the minimum allowed by the state. Our district has been rated an "Excellent" district. Our treasurer has earned awards for running the district so frugally. I am just not sure why this has happened. I would blame the economy but I know that isn't the sole reason. Our district has a history of failing levies. There has been talk of dissolving the district and having a neighboring district take responsibility for educating the children. In a way, I hope this happens. Every neighboring district has higher taxes--by almost double.
Ali Baxendale said...
Kelly,
Levies are tough as teachers. I can imagine in a district as diverse as yours, it would be even more difficult. The district that I teach in is the fastest growing in the state. Each year we are building additional buildings to house all of our students. We have three high schools and are looking to build a fourth in a few years. Levies come up on the ballot fairly frequently. Lately our levies have passed, but much of this is due to a parent group that works hard to make sure that the community is educated on the levy and its importance. This group has really helped our district. I hope everything works out for your district!
Wk1 Failed Levy
Tuesday, May 4th, my district had two levies on the ballot. One was an earned income tax and the other was a 6.75 millage. This was the sixth time our district went to the voters to get funding for the schools. Without it, our school district faces state takeover. Neither levy passed. The state will take over in July. There will be another levy on the ballot in August and every election thereafter until one passes.
Unfortunately, I have a very divided school district. There are three very different areas that were grouped to make one district. Butlerville is a very rural area. Most students do not have access to the internet and many don't have a computer. Most of the families make their living from their farm. Morrow is working class. Many of the adults do not possess a higher educational degree. Finally, there is Maineville. Most of the growth that had happened in the past ten years has taken place here. Most of the adults are college educated. By my description of these three areas, you can probably guess how voting went.
It is a shame that school districts are forced to beg for money to run a school. Frankly, I am not sure what the state is going to do when they take over. There have been people from the state that have spoken with our district. They are stumped as to how this could happen to our district. We have been working at the minimum allowed by the state. Our district has been rated an "Excellent" district. Our treasurer has earned awards for running the district so frugally. I am just not sure why this has happened. I would blame the economy but I know that isn't the sole reason. Our district has a history of failing levies. There has been talk of dissolving the district and having a neighboring district take responsibility for educating the children. In a way, I hope this happens. Every neighboring district has higher taxes--by almost double.
Ali Baxendale said...
Kelly,
Levies are tough as teachers. I can imagine in a district as diverse as yours, it would be even more difficult. The district that I teach in is the fastest growing in the state. Each year we are building additional buildings to house all of our students. We have three high schools and are looking to build a fourth in a few years. Levies come up on the ballot fairly frequently. Lately our levies have passed, but much of this is due to a parent group that works hard to make sure that the community is educated on the levy and its importance. This group has really helped our district. I hope everything works out for your district!
Week 1- Post 4- Response to Elizabeth Bennert
Friday, May 7, 2010
Wk 1 Book Response: Its all invented
This section spoke to me in many ways. The most obvious one is that I am a science teacher and geek. I cannot help but be jazzed about scientific references in assigned texts. It was a thrill to read about the Me'en not being able to see a photograph because they were not trained in how to interpret it. I loved reading about Einstein saying that "it is theory that desides what we can observe." After all in our history the world was round in the days of the greeks, Eratosthenes determined the circumference of the world. It was then theorized that the world was flat, and now it is round again.
What spoke to me the most was the fact that the whole focus of the chapter is on how we perceive and believe. I teach my students all the time that what we are learning can change for new information or new experiences will change our beliefs. Witness the cruel expulsion of pluto from the list of planets because of its size, How Picasso sees a picture and how we see his. I love to post in my classroom the saying my mom used to say, "there are 3 sides to every story, yours, theirs, and the truth." How we look at life and interpret meaning around us is extremely subjective. Because each mind processes in slightly different ways, even if two people were brought up the exact same way and see the exact same things, their minds will still select different meaning and value to what they experience. We all make assumptions about meaning, but nothing, nothing is truly set in stone. Notice the preconceived notions that you carry and override them, do that and you can do just about anything.
Ali Baxendale said...
Liz,
I was also very inspired by this chapter. As a Spanish teacher, I am constantly challenging my students' point of view. Many of them have a hard time seeing the world beyond the town they live in. I also really liked your comment that there are three sides to every story. I am going to use that in my classroom! My students often view their ideas and opinions as fact instead of perceptions. This saying will help them see that there is more than just their point of view.
Wk 1 Book Response: Its all invented
This section spoke to me in many ways. The most obvious one is that I am a science teacher and geek. I cannot help but be jazzed about scientific references in assigned texts. It was a thrill to read about the Me'en not being able to see a photograph because they were not trained in how to interpret it. I loved reading about Einstein saying that "it is theory that desides what we can observe." After all in our history the world was round in the days of the greeks, Eratosthenes determined the circumference of the world. It was then theorized that the world was flat, and now it is round again.
What spoke to me the most was the fact that the whole focus of the chapter is on how we perceive and believe. I teach my students all the time that what we are learning can change for new information or new experiences will change our beliefs. Witness the cruel expulsion of pluto from the list of planets because of its size, How Picasso sees a picture and how we see his. I love to post in my classroom the saying my mom used to say, "there are 3 sides to every story, yours, theirs, and the truth." How we look at life and interpret meaning around us is extremely subjective. Because each mind processes in slightly different ways, even if two people were brought up the exact same way and see the exact same things, their minds will still select different meaning and value to what they experience. We all make assumptions about meaning, but nothing, nothing is truly set in stone. Notice the preconceived notions that you carry and override them, do that and you can do just about anything.
Ali Baxendale said...
Liz,
I was also very inspired by this chapter. As a Spanish teacher, I am constantly challenging my students' point of view. Many of them have a hard time seeing the world beyond the town they live in. I also really liked your comment that there are three sides to every story. I am going to use that in my classroom! My students often view their ideas and opinions as fact instead of perceptions. This saying will help them see that there is more than just their point of view.
Week 1- Post 3
I have really enjoyed reading the first three chapters in The Art of Possibility. I found the first chapter to be very interesting and inspiring. The theme of "it's all invented" really made me start thinking about ways to expand my classroom. Traditionally we think of our class taking place within the four walls of our classroom, with some work done individually at home. Next year, our school will be implementing some new online tools for our students. I am starting to think about how to expand my classroom outside of those four walls, so that my students are able to really expand their learning. While I have been thinking about some of the traditional ways to do this, the "it's all invented" theme has really challenged me to start looking into nontraditional ways to make the content more accessible to my students. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the book to see what other insights it has to offer.
Week 1- Post 2
The AR Website
As I have been working on my AR website this week, it has been somewhat challenging. I have all of the material that is needed, it is just taking some time to put it all together. I am still concerned about my Lit. Review. I am sure that I will have to further edit it once I turn it in again, but I want to make sure that I get it correct. Most of the guides for the website are focused on action research and hard data. Since I chose to do a challenged based learning project, I am working to adapt some of what is expected to apply it to my project. I am really glad that I will have the chance to fix anything that is not perfect the first time.
As I have been working on my AR website this week, it has been somewhat challenging. I have all of the material that is needed, it is just taking some time to put it all together. I am still concerned about my Lit. Review. I am sure that I will have to further edit it once I turn it in again, but I want to make sure that I get it correct. Most of the guides for the website are focused on action research and hard data. Since I chose to do a challenged based learning project, I am working to adapt some of what is expected to apply it to my project. I am really glad that I will have the chance to fix anything that is not perfect the first time.
Week 1- Post 1- Wimba
After listening to this week's Wimba sessions, I was somewhat overwhelmed. First of all, I am glad to get an overview of the class. I am excited about this class because I feel that I will be able to really pull together all of the work that I have been doing on my Challenged Based Learning project throughout this year. It has been exciting to see it take place, and now I am excited to see it all put together on the website. I am a little overwhelmed by all of the work that I need to do to finish my website. I know that is what I will be working on this week.
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